Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of talented young people entering the teaching profession.

Teaching is a hugely popular career and there are currently more teachers in England’s classrooms than ever before and record levels of top graduates entering the profession.

In order to support recruitment in 2016/17, we have increased postgraduate bursaries, which put a premium on degree class, to attract top graduates in English Baccalaureate subjects including physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, computing, modern foreign languages and geography. Prestigious scholarships, worth £30,000 for physics and £25,000 for mathematics, chemistry or computing, are also available to talented graduates with a first or 2:1 degree who are passionate about their subject and have the potential to be inspirational teachers. We are also continuing to fund Teach First and their mission to get the best graduates into challenging schools.

We are spending £67 million to recruit an additional 2,500 mathematics and physics teachers and boost the skills of 15,000 existing non-specialist teachers. This package includes new undergraduate courses that provide students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects the option to train to teach alongside their academic studies, and paid internships in teaching to increase opportunities for STEM undergraduates to experience teaching before they commit to it as a career.

We also run a programme of marketing activities to explain the benefits of a career in teaching and attract young people into the profession. This includes communicating with young people via the “Get into Teaching” website, digital advertising and activity on social media. Department officials attend more than 40 graduate recruitment events each year where they meet one-to-one with students, setting out the benefits of a career in teaching.